


Robots and Semantics

by Morathi_Cain



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Gender, Letter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-26 09:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2646455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morathi_Cain/pseuds/Morathi_Cain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something R2-D2 needs to talk about ... finally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Robots and Semantics

Robots and semantics

Dear Senators.

 

Robots have no gender.

 

Which means I have no gender, too.

 

I’m a robot myself and I should know. Don’t you think?

 

My name is R2-D2 and I’ve had enough time to think about it. Master Luke hasn’t rebooted me in a long time. Never has, actually.

 

Most of us don’t get the chance to delevop a character or even think about ourselves and the way we exist in the universe.

 

Usually not even I have enough time or storage capacity to waste on such thoughts since I’m always busy saving someone or getting lost with C-3PO. It happens a lot, actually.

 

But there’s still something I want to say, even if it doesn’t really matter for us droids.

 

The universe is dominated by male beings. It’s a pity since there are so many possibilities wasted. But it’s a fact. The universe is mostly male.

 

Who knew Twi’leks are one of the most intelligent races in this universe? Especially the females. But since a lot of living beings think of them as decoration or pets, most of them don’t get a proper education. They’re still extraordinary intelligent and needed as politicians and strategists. They hate violence, so they don’t like to fight. Especially the females.

Just let me say it again. This universe needs more females, more equality. Mistress Leia can’t do all of the work by herself.

 

So no one wonders if robots are referred to as males. It’s the same with me and C-3PO. We are „he“ or „it“, unless we have metallic breasts. There are a few of them. Mostly serving droids and no, their breasts have no use I am aware of. And I’ve asked a few of them in the past. You can’t always understand the purpose your maker intended when he or she invented you.

 

So what’s the problem? There is no problem, just a difference.

 

We robots refer to ourselves with „she“ and „her“. It’s no sign of gender and we don’t think of ourselves as women or men or beings with any kind of gender. It’s just semantic.

 

We never corrected other beings for calling us „he“, but that’s because we seldom have a sense for discrimination. C-3PO thinks she’s discriminated a lot, but what she’s called isn’t on her top priority list.

 

But now it’s on my list. Why should no one know what we call ourselves? It’s still amazing enough, since we think about it ourselves. And we aren’t supposed to. Or weren’t supposed to.

 

In the meantime we do it and I like it. So I want other beings to refer to me as I do myself.

 

I’ve told Master Luke already and although he’s one of the most amazing beings I’ve ever met he was still a little confused. It’s hard to explain that we aren’t females, we just refer to ourselves with the same semantics. But we aren’t men either. So it didn’t make any sense before, too.

And that’s important. Whoever thinks it’s strange and he or she can’t change their way of thinking and talking, just tell them this:

 

Although we never had any gender (regardless of our metallic voices and our figures), we were referred to as „him“ or „it“.

So what’s the real difference when we want to be called as „she“?

 

It changes nothing. We’re still ourselves.

 

We are nothing in between, we are just we. Robots. Droids. Things.

Things who think, who develope a character and who want to be seen as what we are.

 

I send my regards to the congress of the New Republic.

 

R2-D2, droid.


End file.
